Reporters Sans Frontières | |
Formation | 1985 |
---|---|
Founder | Robert Ménard, Rémy Loury, Jacques Molénat and Émilien Jubineau |
Type | Nonprofit organisation, non-governmental organisation with consultative status at the United Nations |
Headquarters | Paris, France |
Director General | Christophe Deloire (since July 2012) |
Key people | Christophe Deloire, Secretary General Pierre Haski, President RSF France Mickael Rediske, President RSF Germany Christian Mihr, CEO RSF Germany Rubina Möhring, President RSF Austria Alfonso Armada, President RSF Spain Gérard Tschopp, President RSF Switzerland Erik Halkjær, President, RSF Sweden Jarmo Mäkelä, President, RSF Finland |
Budget | €6 million (RSF France) |
Staff | Approximately 100 |
Website | rsf |
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; French : Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as founded on the belief that everyone requires access to the news and information, in line with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that recognises the right to receive and share information regardless of frontiers, along with other international rights charters. [1] RSF has consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the International Organisation of the Francophonie. [2]
RSF works on the ground in defence of individual journalists at risk and at the highest levels of government and international forums to defend the right to freedom of expression and information. It provides daily briefings and press releases on threats to media freedom in French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Persian and Chinese and publishes an annual press freedom round up, the World Press Freedom Index, that measures the state of media freedom in 180 countries. The organisation provides assistance to journalists at risk and training in digital and physical security, as well as campaigning to raise public awareness of abuse against journalists and to secure their safety and liberty. RSF lobbies governments and international bodies to adopt standards and legislation in support of media freedom and takes legal action in defence of journalists under threat. [3] In addition, RSF keeps a yearly count of journalists killed on the job.
To mark World Day Against Cyber-Censorship on 12 March 2020, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) unveiled a list of 20 Digital Predators of Press Freedom and announced that it is unblocking access to a total 21 websites in the sixth year of its Operation Collateral Freedom. [4]
RSF was founded in Montpellier, France, in 1985 by Robert Ménard, Rémy Loury, Jacques Molénat and Émilien Jubineau. It was registered as a non-profit organisation in 1995. [5] Ménard was RSF's first secretary general, succeeded by Jean-Francois Juillard. Christophe Deloire was appointed secretary-general in 2012. [6]
RSF's head office is based in Paris. It has 13 regional and national offices, including Brussels, London, Washington, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Taipei and Dakar, and a network of 146 correspondents. [7] It employs 57 salaried staff in Paris and internationally. [8] A board of governors, elected from RSF's members, approves the organisation's policies. [9] An International Council has oversight of the organisation's activities and approves the accounts and budget. [10]
In 2018, RSF launched the Information and Democracy Commission to introduce new guarantees for freedom of opinion and expression in the global space of information and communication. In a joint mission statement, the commission's presidents, RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire and Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi identified a range of factors currently threatening that freedom. This includes: political control of the media, subjugation of news and information to private interests, the growing influence of corporate actors, online mass disinformation and the erosion of quality journalism. [12]
This Commission published the International Declaration on Information and Democracy to state principles, define objectives and propose forms of governance for the global online space for information and communication. [13] The Declaration emphasised that corporate entities with a structural function in the global space have duties, especially as regards political and ideological neutrality, pluralism and accountability. It called for recognition of the right to information that is diverse, independent and reliable in order to form opinions freely and participate fully in the democratic debate. [13]
At the Paris Peace Forum in 2018, 12 countries launched a political process aimed at providing democratic guarantees for news and information and freedom of opinion, based on the principles set out in the Declaration. [13]
RSF launched the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) in 2018 with its partners the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Agence France Presse (AFP) and the Global Editors Network (GEN). JTI defines indicators for trustworthy journalism and rewards compliance, bringing tangible benefits for all media outlets and supporting them in creating a healthy space for information. JTI distinguishes itself from similar initiatives by focusing on the process of journalism rather than content alone. Media outlets will be expected to comply with standards that include transparency of ownership, sources of revenue and proof of a range of professional safeguards. [14]
RSF's defence of journalistic freedom includes international missions, the publication of country reports, training of journalists and public protests.
In this function RSF publishes the Munich Charter, an authoritative document which clarifies the "Rights and Obligations" of Journalists. The Munich Charter (fr. Charte de Munich) was developed by the German Journalist Association (de. Deutscher Journalisten-Verband), published in Munich 1971, and is accepted as authoritative within the profession. It was later adopted by most journalists' unions in Europe. [15]
Recent global advocacy and practical interventions have included: opening a centre for women journalists in Afghanistan in 2017, a creative protest with street-artist C215 in Strasbourg for Turkish journalists in detention, turning off the Eiffel Tower lights in tribute to murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi and providing training to journalists and bloggers in Syria. [16] [17] [18] In July 2018, RSF sent a mission to Saudi Arabia to call for the release of 30 journalists. [19] The organisation publishes a gallery of Predators of Press Freedom, highlighting the most egregious international violators of press freedom. [20] It also maintains an online Press Freedom Barometer, monitoring the number of journalists, media workers and citizen journalists killed or imprisoned. [21] Its programme Operation Collateral Freedom, launched in 2014, provides alternative access to censored websites by creating mirror sites: 22 sites have been unblocked in 12 countries, including Iran, China, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. [22] RSF offers grants to journalists at risk and supports media workers in need of refuge and protection.
RSF's annual Press Freedom Prize, created in 1992, honours courageous and independent journalists who have faced threats or imprisonment for their work and who have challenged the abuse of power. TV5-Monde is a partner in the prize.[ citation needed ]
A Netizen Prize was introduced in 2010, in partnership with Google, recognising individuals, including bloggers and cyber-dissidents, who have advanced freedom of information online through investigative reporting or other initiatives. "Our Prizes RSF". 25 April 2024. Archived from the original on 25 April 2024.
In 2018, RSF launched new categories for the Press Freedom Prize: courage, independence and impact.[ citation needed ]
Every few years, RSF also distributes Press freedom predator anti-awards. [23]
This article may contain excessive or inappropriate references to self-published sources .(August 2020) |
RSF issues a report annually.
RSF reported that 67 journalists were killed, while 879 were arrested and 38 were abducted in 2012. [31] The number of journalists killed worldwide in 2014 was 66, two-thirds of whom were killed in war zones. The deadliest areas for the journalists in 2014 were Syria, Palestine, Ukraine, Iraq and Libya (needs citations). The number of journalists convicted by their government rose to 178 in 2014, most of them in Egypt, Ukraine, China, Eritrea and Iran. [32] RSF said that 110 journalists were killed in the course of their work in 2015. [33] [34] In 2016, RSF stated that, there were 348 imprisoned journalists and 52 hostages. Nearly two-thirds of imprisoned journalists were in Turkey, China, Syria, Egypt and Iran. [35] [36] The RSF's 2017 annual report stated that 65 journalists were killed, 326 journalists were imprisoned and 54 journalists were taken hostage during the year. [37] RSF's 2018 report stated that over 80 journalists were killed, 348 were currently imprisoned, and another 60 were being held hostage. [38] [39] [40]
In addition to its country, regional and thematic reports, RSF publishes a photography book 100 Photos for Press Freedom three times a year as a tool for advocacy and a fundraiser. It is a significant source of income for the organisation, raising nearly a quarter of its funds in 2018: [41]
On 22 February 2020, RSF issued a statement condemning the IRGC's call for journalists to be detained in Iran. IRGC intelligence has summoned some journalists[ clarification needed ] and banned any media activities. Reporters Without Borders described the IRGC's intelligence action as "arbitrary and illegal" and aimed at "preventing journalists from being informed on social media." [51]
Following the outbreak of the Coronavirus in Iran, RSF issued a statement on 6 March expressing concern over the health of imprisoned journalists. [52]
On 16 April 2020, RSF wrote to two United Nations special rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression and Health, urging the United Nations to issue serious warnings to governments that restrict freedom of expression in the context of the coronavirus epidemic. The letter, signed by RSF Director Christian Mihr, stated: "Freedom of the press and access to information are more important than ever at the time of Corona's pandemic." [53]
On 21 April 2020, the RSF based in Paris said that the pandemic had amplified and highlighted many crises and over shadowed freedom of the press. The high representative of the EU, Josep Borrell, stated that the pandemic should not be used to justify the limitation of democratic and civil freedoms and that the rule of law and international commitments should be respected. He said freedom of speech and access to information should not be limited and that measures taken against the pandemic should not be used to restrict human rights advocates, reporters, media staff and institutions of civil societies. [54]
On 25 June 2020, RSF issued a statement entitled "Enforced online repentance, Iran's new method of repression". According to the report, the Revolutionary Guards summoned a number of journalists, writers and human rights activists and threatened to detain them, forcing them to express their regrets or apologies for publishing their comments in cyberspace in order to silence them. [55] [ clarification needed ]
On 25 June 2020, Reporters Without Borders issued a statement entitled "Online Repentance, a New Method of Repression in the Islamic Republic of Iran." According to the report, the Revolutionary Guards summoned and threatened to detain a number of journalists, writers, and human rights activists, forcing them to express regret or apology for posting their views online to silence them. The organisation condemned the pressure, threats and silence of social activists. [55] [ clarification needed ]
RSF's budget for 2022 totalled €8m. 52% of the organisation's income comes from the state sector; 22% from foundations; 12% from commercial activities; 11% from sponsorships and public donations. [56] Foundations supporting RSF's work through services include the American Express, the Société Générale, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and Ford Foundation. [57]
In 2005 RSF was reported by The Guardian to have been criticised by left-wing writer Diana Barahona for accepting funding from the National Endowment for Democracy in the US and the Center for a Free Cuba. She accused RSF of being part of “a neocon crusade” against Fidel Castro's Government of Cuba. In response, Secretary-general Robert Ménard stated that funding from NED totalled 0.92 per cent of RSF's budget and was used to support African journalists and their families. [58] RSF ceased its relationship with the Center for a Free Cuba in 2008. [59]
RSF has received multiple international awards honouring its achievements:
RSF was criticised for accepting the Dan David Prize, awarded by the Dan David Foundation in Israel, due to the alleged Palestinian journalists killed or arrested in Gaza. [72]
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exercised freely. Such freedom implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state; its preservation may be sought through a constitution or other legal protection and security. It is in opposition to paid press, where communities, police organizations, and governments are paid for their copyrights.
El Watan is an independent French-language newspaper in Algeria.
Maria Angelita Ressa is a Filipino and American journalist. She is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler. She previously spent nearly two decades working as a lead investigative reporter in Southeast Asia for CNN. She is a Professor of Professional Practice in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and has been a Distinguished Fellow at Columbia's new Institute of Global Politics since fall of 2023.
Can Dündar is a Turkish journalist, columnist and documentarian. Editor-in-chief of center-left Cumhuriyet newspaper until August 2016, he was arrested in November 2015 after his newspaper published footage showing the State Intelligence MİT sending weapons to Syrian Islamist fighters.
Ahmed Reda Benchemsi is a Moroccan journalist. He is the founder and was the publisher and editor of TelQuel and Nichane magazines.
The World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) since 2002 based upon the non-governmental organization's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to reflect the degree of freedom that journalists, news organizations, and netizens have in each country, and the efforts made by authorities to respect this freedom. Reporters Without Borders is careful to note that the WPFI only deals with press freedom and does not measure the quality of journalism in the countries it assesses, nor does it look at human rights violations in general.
The working conditions of journalists in Algeria have evolved since the 1962 independence. After 1990, the Code of Press was suppressed, allowing for greater freedom of press. However, with the civil war in the 1990s, more than 70 journalists were assassinated by terrorists. Sixty journalists were killed between 1993 and 1998 in Algeria.
There are over ten different languages in the Israeli media, with Hebrew as the predominant one. Press in Arabic caters to the Arab citizens of Israel, with readers from areas including those governed by the Palestinian National Authority. During the eighties and nineties, the Israeli press underwent a process of significant change as the media gradually came to be controlled by a limited number of organizations, whereas the papers published by political parties began to disappear. Today, three large, privately owned conglomerates based in Tel Aviv dominate the mass media in Israel.
Carole Jane Cadwalladr is a British author, investigative journalist, and features writer. She is a features writer for The Observer and formerly worked at The Daily Telegraph. Cadwalladr rose to international prominence in 2018 for her role in exposing the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal, for which she was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, alongside The New York Times reporters.
The mass media in Syria consists primarily of television, radio, Internet, film and print. The national language of Syria is Arabic but some publications and broadcasts are also available in English and French. While television is the most popular medium in Syria, the Internet has become a widely utilized vehicle to disseminate content. Transcending all available media, the government seeks to control what Syrians see by restricting coverage from outside sources. Publications and broadcasts are monitored by members of the government. All mass media outlets are under the supervision of the Ministry of Information. Third article of the 2013 Information Ministry guidelines stipulate that purpose of all media outlets is "to enlighten public opinion" in line with the ideological doctrines "of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party and the policy of the state".
World Day Against Cyber Censorship is an online event held each year on March 12 to draw attention to the ways that governments around the world are deterring and censoring free speech online. The day was first observed on 12 March 2008 at the request of Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International. A letter written by Jean-François Julliard, Secretary-General of Reporters Without Borders, and Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International, was sent to the Chief Executive Officers of Google, Yahoo!, Inc., and Microsoft Corporation to request observation of the day. The annual event is symbolized by a logo created by Reporters Without Borders consisting of a computer mouse breaking free from a chain.
Jila Baniyaghoob is an Iranian journalist and women's rights activist. She is the editor-in-chief of the website Kanoon Zanan Irani. Baniyaghoob is married to fellow journalist Bahman Ahmadi Amou'i, an editor at Sarmayeh, a business newspaper.
Pavel Grigorievich Sheremet was a Belarusian-born Russian and Ukrainian journalist who was imprisoned by the government of Belarus in 1997, sparking an international incident between Belarus and Russia. The New York Times has described him as "known for his crusading reports about political abuses in Belarus" and "a thorn in the side of Lukashenko's autocratic government". He was awarded the Committee to Protect Journalists' International Press Freedom Award in 1999 and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Prize for Journalism and Democracy in 2002.
Hadi Al Abdullah is a Syrian citizen journalist and activist who has risen to prominence through his coverage of the Syrian Civil War.
Erol Önderoğlu is a Turkish-French journalist, and a representative of Reporters Without Borders. In 2016, he was arrested by the Turkish government for his work supporting Ozgur Gundem, a Kurdish newspaper, and accused of supporting terrorists; his arrest was widely criticized as suppression of freedom of the press.
Phạm Đoan Trang is a Vietnamese author, blogger, journalist, publisher, and democracy activist. She received the 2017 Homo Homini Award from People In Need, who called her "one of the leading figures of the contemporary Vietnamese dissent". In 2024, she is in prison after being convicted of “conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”.
Amal Khalifa Idris Habani is a Sudanese journalist and human rights activist.
Justin Brake is a Canadian journalist who works for APTN National News and Newfoundland's The Independent. While working at The Independent, covering protests at Muskrat Falls, Brake was arrested. His arrest was condemned by press-freedom groups and his reporting won him the 2018 Press Freedom Award. Charges were dropped in 2019.
Freedom of the press in China refers to the journalism standards and its freedom and censorship exercised by the government of China. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees "freedom of speech [and] of the press" which the government, in practice, routinely violates with total impunity, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Mortaza Behboudi is a Franco-Afghan war reporter and documentary filmmaker. In 2019, he was featured in Forbes 30 under 30 in the category of Media and Marketing for his work on Guiti News. Mortaza Behboudi is Bayeux Calvados-Normandy War Correspondents Prize and Prix Varenne winner in the year 2022. On January the 7th, 2023, Behboudi was detained and imprisoned by the Taliban in Afghanistan, from where he had been reporting for a variety of international media since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. He was released from his detention after 284 days on the 18th of October, 2023.